What is Gypsy?

The English term Gypsy (or Gipsy) originates from the Greek word Αιγύπτοι (Aigyptoi, whence modern Greek γύφτοι gifti), in the erroneous belief that the Romanies originated in Egypt, and were exiled as punishment for allegedly harboring the infant Jesus. This exonym is sometimes written with capital letter, to show that it is designates an ethnic group.

As described in Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the medieval French referred to the Romanies as egyptiens. The term has come to bear pejorative connotations (as in the term "gyp" meaning "to cheat", a reference to the suspicion the Romanies engendered). However, use of the word "Gypsy" in English has now become so pervasive that many Romani organizations use it in their own organizational names.

In North America, the word "Gypsy" is commonly used as a reference to lifestyle or fashion, and not to the Romani ethnicity. The Spanish term gitano and the French term gitan may have the same origin.